Question: Can you prove that Jesus is God’s Son?
Answer: Can I do it to your satisfaction? Let’s see.
This is far more than a passing question. On it hinges your life’s purpose, its direction, its destiny. Believing that Jesus is God’s Son requires a certain amount of faith, which can be informed with evidence.
From the start Jesus provoked admiration or rejection. Notice the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary found in Luke 1:30-36: “‘Don’t be frightened, Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for God has decided to wonderfully bless you! Very soon now, you will become pregnant and have a baby boy, and you are to name him “Jesus.” He shall be very great and shall be called the Son of God. And the Lord God shall give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he shall reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom shall never end!’ Mary asked the angel, ‘But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.’ The angel replied, ‘The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy—the Son of God’” (TLB).*
That’s either an incredible miracle or utter foolishness. Either God miraculously placed Jesus in Mary’s womb, or else Mary blamed God for an unwanted pregnancy that she wouldn’t admit came about any other way than by a miracle.
At the start of Jesus’ ministry, the voice of God announced that Jesus was His Son. Mark 1:9-11 records, “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”
Not surprisingly, John the Baptist testified that Jesus was the “Son of God” (John 1:34). Then some of John’s disciples began following Jesus, claiming He was the Messiah—the One God had promised would save people from sin. And when Nathanael received the call to follow Jesus, he also called Him the “Son of God” (John 1:49).
During Jesus’ first miracle—turning water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana—the miraculous sign of Jesus “revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him” (John 2:11).
Evil spirits repeatedly identified Him as the Son of God (Mark 3:11). Not surprisingly, those who felt the benefits of His miracles considered Him to be from God (John 9:30-33). Jesus even claimed it Himself: “I am God’s Son” (John 10:36).
The writer C. S. Lewis said that we are faced with one of three options in relating to Jesus, due to the fact that He claimed to be God:
1. Jesus was a liar–since He claimed to be God, either He was, or else He was lying about it.
2. Jesus was a lunatic–a self-deluded Messiah, not necessarily a liar but just crazy.
3. Jesus was God–if neither of the first two is true, then Jesus was indeed who He claimed to be—God!
If either of the first two possibilities is true, it calls for a rejection of Jesus. If the third possibility is reality, our response should be worship.
People can provide various facts that seem to indicate that Jesus was or wasn’t divine. But another way to consider your question is how you have come to know Jesus for yourself. If you don’t know Him personally, you may need to experience Him a number of times for your faith to grow, like the disciples. Or, you may need only one experience, like the Roman centurion (Mark 15:39). But if you go on the word of others without experiencing Him yourself, you miss the point.
John wrote, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30, 31).
Until Jesus becomes the Son of God to you, he will be little more than some historical figure. But when Jesus is the Son of God to you, your entire life will be centered on him.
*Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill. Used by permission.
